Elizabeth A. Harkins (Monaco), EdD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Special Education, Professional Counseling, and Disability Studies at William Paterson University. She is the current Director of the Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Disabilities Advanced Masters Program. Dr. Harkins has extensive experience serving students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in a variety of settings. Prior to entering academia, she worked for over a decade as a special education administrator, classroom teacher, and family advocate. Dr. Harkins’ scholarly interests focus on the critical importance of social justice pedagogy alongside educational excellence for all students. Some of her recent publications include manuscripts that examine the multiple, overlapping social identities for students with ASD and I/DD; the impacts of social injustices for individuals with disabilities; culturally sustaining practices; and intersectional pedagogy. L. Lynn Stansberry Brusnahan, PhD, is a professor in and Chair of the Department of Special Education in the School of Education at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. She coordinates the autism and developmental disabilities master’s programs. She is a private educational consultant and parent of an adult son with autism. She earned her doctorate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she studied contemporary educational issues within urban settings. She has served on the board of directors for the Autism Society of America and Council for Exceptional Children’s (CEC) Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities (DADD). She co-authored Do-Watch-Listen-Say: Social and communication skills for autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Stansberry Brusnahan’s scholarly interests focus on autism and teacher preparation. In 2012, she was the Autism Society of America’s Professional of the Year. Marcus C. Fuller, PhD, is a visiting lecturer in the Department of Education at The University of Vermont. He earned his doctorate in special education at Texas A&M University. He has served teachers and parents from various ethnic backgrounds, socio-economic status, and age groups within urban and rural areas. Dr. Fuller's scholarly interests focus on empowering families, educators, and researchers by helping them increase their implementation skills during interventions with children with behavior disorders, autism, and/or complex communication needs through the use of educational coaching and performance feedback. Dr. Fuller has served as a reviewer for multiple journals and conference proposals as an active member of the Council for Exceptional Children’s (CEC), Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities (DADD), and the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD).
I think that special education teachers, as well as other education professionals, would benefit from having this book included in their preparation programs because it would help to increase their cultural competence. It appears that this book would help teachers to think about the various elements that may contribute to a student's identity including their disability, culture, race, gender, or sexual orientation. By increasing their overall understanding of various aspects of students' identities, educators can become more skilled and capable of working with a diverse array of students. Increasing educators' cultural competence makes them more capable of designing interventions and strategies that are useful and advocating for the whole student more effectively. --Nina Parrish, Parrish Learning Zone The author eloquently presented content to meet the unique individual needs of students with disabilities. The content gives specific strategies on working with a diverse population of students with special needs --April Goins-Jones, assistant professor, Fayetteville State University This book would make a significant contribution to the literature. We have been working with our own pre-service students to help them understand the various complexities that children bring to school that can impact their learning and sense of belonging, and to recognize that the strategies for responding often cross these complexities. The authors very appropriately identified Universal Design for Learning as a key set of competencies that ALL teachers need. The literature has identified this approach to instructional planning and delivery as important for students who have experienced racial trauma, who are categorized as having a disability under IDEA, and who are multilingual learners. --Elizabeth Altieri, PhD, director of School of Teacher Education and Leadership I think that special education teachers, as well as other education professionals, would benefit from having this book included in their preparation programs because it would help to increase their cultural competence. It appears that this book would help teachers to think about the various elements that may contribute to a student's identity including their disability, culture, race, gender, or sexual orientation. By increasing their overall understanding of various aspects of students' identities, educators can become more skilled and capable of working with a diverse array of students. Increasing educators' cultural competence makes them more capable of designing interventions and strategies that are useful and advocating for the whole student more effectively. The author eloquently presented content to meet the unique individual needs of students with disabilities. The content gives specific strategies on working with a diverse population of students with special needs This book would make a significant contribution to the literature. We have been working with our own pre-service students to help them understand the various complexities that children bring to school that can impact their learning and sense of belonging, and to recognize that the strategies for responding often cross these complexities. The authors very appropriately identified Universal Design for Learning as a key set of competencies that ALL teachers need. The literature has identified this approach to instructional planning and delivery as important for students who have experienced racial trauma, who are categorized as having a disability under IDEA, and who are multilingual learners.